A judge ruled that a Massachusetts city cannot install two large statues of Catholic saints outside of its public safety building, saying that using taxpayer money to pay for the statues violates the state’s constitution concerning religious neutrality.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Thursday, upholding a previous temporary injunction that had blocked the installation of the statues outside Quincy, Massachusetts’ newly built public safety building.

The statues, said the court, “may convey to observing members of the public implicit government support for that religion and, as a result, subordination of other religions”.

In February 2025, local media revealed that the new public safety building would include a pair of 10-foot-tall statues of St Michael and St Florian. The statues had reportedly been commissioned by Mayor Tom Koch about two years before their existence was made known to the public, at a cost of US$850,000 in taxpayer funds.

St Michael is the patron saint of police officers; St Florian is the patron saint of firefighters.

In a statement published after Thursday’s decision, Koch’s office called the news “disappointing” and vowed to “continue the fight for the ability to commemorate our first responders as the law permits”.

“Quincy’s firefighters and police put their lives on the line for this city every day, and these statues were chosen to honour their bravery, service, and sacrifice,” said the office of Mayor Koch.

Koch is a practising Roman Catholic. In 2018, he left the Democratic Party due to its stance on abortion.

In October 2025, a superior court judge blocked the installation of the statues. The court says the statues themselves remain in storage.

Quincy, which is located south of Boston, has a population of just over 100,000 residents.

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